


Moonlight

by InvalidTag



Series: Crimson Eyes and Silver Tongues [3]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pentious Has A Secret British Accent, Songfic, and can Sing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvalidTag/pseuds/InvalidTag
Summary: Pentious has been working on something, though Arackniss could probably guess that it's for him.He didn't expect it to be a VHS though.
Relationships: Arackniss/Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)
Series: Crimson Eyes and Silver Tongues [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941754
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Feels weird posting something so short!

“Play me”.

Arackniss had been staring at the same two words for at least ten minutes. Their flowery handwriting was Pentious’ trademark, but he couldn’t bother himself to obey their simple command and insert the VHS tape they were written on into the player just in front of it. 

_How adorably retro_ , he thought. Pentious sometimes surprised him with these anachronistic gifts, small, experimental indulgences from times far past his own. For someone as stuck in his ways as Pentious was, Arackniss couldn’t deny his flair for technology, even if most of it was terribly outdated. It gave him a lot of kooky charm, sure, but Arackniss knew that the day Pentious acknowledged his technology to be inferior would be the day Hell froze over and Lucifer Himself made snow angels. 

What could possibly be on the tape? His mind raced with nothing but morbid anticipation. Pentious had mentioned working on “something”, but Arackniss had no idea if that “something” was trapped in his laboratory or imprisoned within the VHS in front of him. What if it was a snuff film? Wouldn’t be the first time he’d stumbled into one, Hell was bursting at the seams with degenerate shit like that. A horrifying thought flashed in his head, but he dismissed it as best as he could. Pentious would never do something like that, right?

He felt his muscles tense up and a shiver slither down his spine. This couldn’t have been Pentious’ intention. The goofball was probably hiding in the other room, waiting to burst in with a yellow-toothed smile, a warm hug, and an explanation for this entire VHS business. All he had to do was press play. 

Arackniss knew better than to trust his gut. His instincts had been screaming at him, but he couldn’t pinpoint for what reason. 

_Fuck it_ , he thought, and shoved the tape into the VCR.

* * *

After a moment the VCR whirred to life, and the television behind it turned on without input. A video began playing on the antique screen. The footage was grainy, slightly oversaturated and obviously made with a 80’s or 90’s flair in mind. 

The camera was facing a wall with an ancient, dusty mural engraved on it, like a map to some mystical land never before seen by human eyes. In front of it, an upright piano stood, and on either side of the piano two small ferns stood almost out of frame. 

A heavenly choir chant swooped and swelled in the video’s audio, as the camera glitched and shuttered, revealing a figure sitting on the piano stool for mere frames at a time. As the choir jumped from a low note to a higher-pitched bellow, the footage grew less stable, stuttering and losing focus as the figure came into focus more and more. It was Pentious, missing his trademark hat but dressed in an undone dress shirt and overcoat. Warm, finger-picked guitar strings joined the choir, making the song sound like a gorgeous lullaby. Pentious began to sway back and forth to the music.

When Pentious opened his mouth and began _singing,_ Arackniss was taken aback by his voice. Gone was the uptight, shrill tone he held normally. Now, his voice felt more… natural. It was deep, cavernous, and held much more of an accent.

_“I walked into the desert…_

_I walked out of the past…_

_You were riding on a black horse…_

_To sing the songs at the table, again…_

_I walked into the desert…_

_I walked into the dawn…”_

At “dawn”, backing vocals rushed in to draw out the word until Pentious spoke again. When he did, gentle, sputtering electronics joined the choir and the guitar, the fascinating sounds ringing in Arackniss’ ears.

_“You came to me on a black horse…_

_To remind me of all I’ve said and done…_ ”

The backing vocals then joined Pentious with every word, sending his powerful voice soaring into the airy mix. 

_“Be lightweight, when I ro-o-o-a-m…_

_Be lightweight, when I ro-o-o-a-m…_

_Be lightweight, when I ro-o-o-a-m…_

_Be lightweight, when I ro-o-o-a-m…”_

And as soon as it had picked up, Pentious stopped singing and the electronics dipped and rose in steely metallic tones as the footage began to distort and shiver again, making Pentious flicker and eventually disappear from the video. With one final _ding_ , the video cut to black and stopped, leaving Arackniss with teary eyes and shaky breath.

* * *

At some point Pentious himself had slithered in and placed his hand on Arackniss’ shoulder, obviously tipped off by the unfamiliar sound of music in his house. 

“Wow, Pent,” Arackniss sniffed and blinked away a tear, “that was pretty cool.”

He could almost see the happy smile on Pentious’ face. “Thank you very much! I wasn’t sure if you were going to like it or not, since I’m not privy to your musical tastes, but I’m flattered either way.” Pentious sounded smug and proud, but Arackniss would let him have this.

“Didn’t know you could sing like that.”

“Neither did I, but once I started I just got into it, I suppose.”

“Is that your normal speaking voice?”

Pentious coughed awkwardly. “Well, yes, but I disassociate with it now. Frankly I didn’t know I could sound like that anymore.”

“So this is a ‘me’ thing, huh?”

“All for your many eyes only, dear.”

Arackniss chuckled as Pentious leaned down to peck him on the cheek. “I don’t mind that voice. Think it’s kinda sexy.”

He could feel Pentious stiffen in embarrassment. “Oh! Well, er… why?”

“Why don’t you like it?”

“Because it’s positively _boorish_ , and hardly the voice of an upstanding gentleman!” Pentious scoffed. “To defeat one’s enemies, one mustn’t ever stoop to their level, and that includes in terms of speech.”

Arackniss rolled his eyes and hopped into Pentious’ arms and to kiss him, savouring the feeling of their mouths crushed together. He let his eyes flick shut and felt a deep blush burn on his cheeks, but he didn’t care. Pentious’ hands felt good on his body and his mouth felt good against his, which were more than enough reasons for him to enjoy the love he shared with this goofy-ass demon. How would he _ever_ break his addiction to Pentious’ touch, his taste? His massive mechanical monstrosities and his stupid music-video-things? 

When they separated, both were breathing deeply and red in the face. “Well, you don’t gotta defeat me, Pent. You can’t get ridda me that easy.”

Pentious chuckled, and pressed their foreheads together before clearing his throat. “I don’t think I’d ever want to be rid of you, Nissy.”

Arackniss whined and quickly shoved his face into Pentious’ neck. _“It’s weird when you say it like that Pent.”_

“You like it?”

Arackniss chuckled, blushing. “And there’s a whole island of fuckers who sound like that?”

Pentious returned a deep chuckle, his voice rumbling in his chest. “For the record, yes, but it’s different based on the city. I grew up on the streets of Oxford and never left it.”

“Well I’m happy I can still understand ya. Any thicker and that accent would be unintelligible.” Arackniss said, hugging Pentious tighter to hide his blush.

“I’m glad you like it. I may be persuaded to talk like it more often. Around you, of course.”

Arackniss just wrapped as much of himself as he could around the one he was in love with—his _boyfriend_ , Henroin be damned—and sighed happily, unable to smother a giddy laugh from bubbling out of him. “I’d like that, Pent.”

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9DMDulMIz4
> 
> Love me a good songfic. 
> 
> This was more of a one-off, but I liked the vibe of it and wanted to post something. Hope you enjoyed! Comment, kudos, all that stuff. 
> 
> More delicious things to come.


End file.
